Passenger train derails in India; at least 19 dead

People gather around a passenger train that derailed near Roha station, 110 kilometers (70 miles) south of Mumbai, Maharashtra state, India, Sunday, May 4, 2014. More than a dozen people died and more than 100 were injured, police said.
(AP Photo)

People gather around a passenger train that derailed near Roha station, 110 kilometers (70 miles) south of Mumbai, Maharashtra state, India, Sunday, May 4, 2014. The cause of the accident was not immediately known.
(AP Photo)

NEW DELHI (AP) — A passenger train derailed in western India on Sunday, killing at least 19 people and injuring more than 100, police said.

The engine and four of the 20 coaches jumped the tracks near Roha station, 110 kilometers (70 miles) south of Mumbai, said police officer Ankush Shinde.

The rescuers used gas cutters to open the derailed coaches to reach those trapped inside. Big cranes were deployed to remove these coaches from the rail track, Shinde said.

Two of the derailed coaches tilted on one side and one overturned, said railway spokesman Anil Kumar Saxena.

The rescue operation was continuing and the death toll was expected to rise, Shinde said.

Saxena said that 123 injured passengers, some of them in serious condition, were taken to a hospital.

The cause of the derailment was not immediately known. Rail authorities ordered an investigation into the accident, Saxena said.

Train movement in the area was suspended as the derailed coaches and the rescue operation blocked an adjacent track as well.

Railway accidents are common in India, which has one of the world’s largest train networks and serves 20 million passengers a day. Most accidents are blamed on poor maintenance and human error.